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Flexo Label Advantage Group (FLAG), a buying group for the label industry, recently held its third Annual Members Meeting, November 12-13 in Cincinnati, OH, USA. Highlights of the two-day event included a tour of FLAG member company Model Graphics, as well as a celebratory dinner, where the organization’s 2013 award winners were honored.

FLAG President John McKay (L) with Dan Bendele, from IPW, who won this year's Strategic Partner Award.

"Our Annual Members Meetings provide a great opportunity to our members and vendors for education, interaction and networking,” explains John McKay, president and founder of FLAG. “This year’s event was especially productive,” he adds. "It was a jam-packed two days that even included a tour of FLAG Member Model Graphics. It's not every day that independent converters get the chance to visit other shops and maybe pick up an idea or two that could help their own process."

In addition to the tour, FLAG members and vendors spent time discussing how to make the most out of the FLAG opportunity. One topic that particularly resonated with attendees dealt with a new FLAG program for catastrophic backup and planning. "Customers are asking converters what their backup plans are should something happen – and the big companies already have solutions for that. We are pleased to say that FLAG Members now have an answer too,” McKay says.

At the annual Dinner Event, FLAG presented several New Member Awards as well as a special award to IPW (Independent Printers Worldwide) for outstanding Strategic Alliance Support. Also honored was UPM Raflatac, as the labelstock supplier received FLAG’s Vendor of the Year Award, recognizing the FLAG vendor that goes “above and beyond” to help FLAG and it's members.

Currently, FLAG has 24 members in North America, and in 2014 is poised for continued growth. To start off the year, and coinciding with the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, FLAG is featuring a special promotion called the “FLAG 2014 Olympic Challenge.” This promotion is an opportunity for new members joining FLAG by March 31, 2014, to get a discount on the one time Initiation fee.